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UNITED STATES

U.S. Supreme Courts Declines Certiorari in the 5Pointz Case
Two years ago, in one of the most important decisions applying the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) since its adoption, New York’s Eastern District awarded $6.75 million in statutory damages to 21 street artists whose aerosol works were intentionally destroyed by the owner of the buildings on which they were painted. VARA gives artists the right to sue to prevent the destruction of a work of “recognized stature,” and to recover money damages if their work is distorted, mutilated or otherwise modified to the prejudice of the artist’s honor or reputation. …
Continue Reading 5Pointz Artists Claim Final Victory as SCOTUS Denies Cert & Other Headlines

UNITED STATES

Two New York Antiquities Dealers Arrested for Allegedly Fabricating Provenance Documents
Two owners of a Manhattan-based antiquities gallery were arrested in connection with their suspected complicity in an alleged fraud scheme to swindle buyers with the use of fake provenance documents. …
Continue Reading Brooklyn Museum Deaccessioning Artworks, Banksy Loses Trademark Battle and Other Stories

UNITED STATES

U.S. Senate Subcommittee’s Report Recommends Art Market Regulations
As part of its investigation into the effectiveness of sanctions against foreign persons and entities, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the United States Senate issued a report focused on lack of regulation and pervasive secrecy in the art market. …
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UNITED STATES

SCOTUS Will Hear Appeal by German Museums over Jewish Heirs’ Claims that the Sale of the Guelph Treasure Was a Genocidal Taking
In a lawsuit filed in 2015, Jewish heirs of German art owners who sold the Guelph Treasure (gilded German reliquaries dating back to the 11th to 15th centuries) to the Nazi-controlled Prussian government in 1935, claim that the sale was a “genocidal taking.” …
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Will Hear Appeal over Restitution of the Guelph Treasure & Other Stories

UNITED STATES

$6.75 Million Award for 5Pointz Aerosol Artists Affirmed on Appeal
Two years ago, in one of the most important decisions applying the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 (VARA) since its adoption, New York’s Eastern District awarded $6.75 million in statutory damages to 21 graffiti artists whose aerosol works were intentionally destroyed by the owner of the buildings on which they were painted.
Continue Reading $6.75 Million Award for 5Pointz Aerosol Artists Affirmed on Appeal and Other Headlines

BREAKING

UK Adopts Anti−Money Laundering Regulations for Art Dealers and Auction Houses
This January, the UK ratified new legislation that introduced, largely without modification, the EU’s Fifth Money Laundering Directive, which imposes new compliance obligations on art market participants.…

Continue Reading UK Introduces Money Laundering Regulations to the Art Market and Other Headlines

BREAKING:
Italian Appellate Court Allows Loan of Leonardo’s Fragile Vitruvian Man Sketch to Louvre
In early October, in a potential blow to the Louvre’s October 24, 2019, opening of its Leonardo da Vinci retrospective marking the 500th anniversary of his death, an Italian court blocked the loan of Vitruvian Man, after Italia Nostra, an Italian heritage organization, challenged the loan under Italian laws prohibiting museums from loaning works that are “integral to their collections” or works that are “susceptible to damage in transport or when on display in unfavorable environmental conditions.” …
Continue Reading Leonardo’s Fragile Vitruvian Man Will Travel to The Louvre After All and Other Art Headlines

UNITED STATES

Golden Coffin on Display at the Met Is Going Back to Egypt
The Metropolitan Museum of Art’s golden coffin is worth nearly $4 million and originally held the remains of an influential 1st century BC priest, Nedjemankh. Recent investigations determined that the coffin was stolen from the Minya region in Egypt in 2011 during a political uprising. Smugglers took the object to Germany by way of Dubai, then to France where a Parisian dealer sold it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in July 2017.…

Continue Reading Golden Coffin to Be Returned to Egypt and Other Headlines